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No. 625,665 Patented May 23, I899. E. FHANC.

APPARATUS FOR BOTTLING AND GORKING.

(Application filed Feb. 12, 1898.) (No Model.) 8 Sheets-Sheet l.

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E. FBANG. APPARATUS FOR BOTTLING AND COBKING (Application med Feb. 12,1898.) (No Model.) Shoats-$heet 2. I

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No. 625,665. Patented May' 23, I899. E. FBANC.

APPARATUS FOR BUTTLING AND CURKING' 3 Shaeis-Sheet 3.

(Application filed Feb. 12, 1898.)

(No Model.)

Eventinm I py fnzsse UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL FRANC, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR BOTTLING -AND CORKING.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 625,665, dated. May 23,1899. Application filed February 12, 1898. Serial No. 670,096. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, EMIL FRANC, asubject of the Queen of Great Britain,residing at 107 Charing Cross road, in the city of London, England, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Bottlingand Corking, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedapparatus or machine for charging bottles with beer or other liquid andfor corking the charged bottles. This objectis accomplished in themanner and by the means hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing made to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sideelevation, and Fig. 2 is a plan, partly in section, of apparatusaccording to myinvention. Fig. 3 is'a vertical section on the line 3 3of Fig. 1, showing the filli'ng devices; and Fig. 4. is a verticalsection on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1, showing the corking devices. Figs. 5and 6 are vertical sections, to an enlarged scale, of the filling-pipesin their two positions. Figs. 7 and 8 are vertical sections, to anenlarged scale, of the cork-compressors in their two positions.

I place a number of empty bottles B in a row upon a tray under acorresponding number of branch pipes P, which lead from a cistern 0above. Each branch pipe has a vertical tubular portion P having withinit a sliding filling-tube T, all these tubes connected to a cross-head Habove, which can be lowered by a lever L and is raised by acounterweight l on the lever. Within each sliding tube there is an innerair-tube A, open at the bottom, and at the top it opens into the upperpart of the sliding tube T. The tops of all the sliding tubes T areconnected to a cross-tube T,which communicates by a flexible tube '1with the top of the cistern 0, which is closed. The sliding tubes T areeach provided near the lower end with a lateral hole or holes T Figs..5and 6, so arranged that when the tube is pulled down by the lever L, thelower end of the tube being then in the bottle, which is closed byaspring caoutchouc socket I) brought down by the tube, the lateral holeor holes T establish communication through the tube T between theinterior of the bottle and the cistern-pipe T The liquid from thecistern 0 then flows through the branch pipes P, orifices P and tubes T,and hole T into the bottles, while the air from the bottles passes upthe central air-tubes A to the upper part of the cistern. When theliquid rises in the bottles and seals the lower ends of the air-tubes A,the passage of the liquid to the bottles ceases. In actual practice whenthe liquid rises in the bottles and seals the lower ends of theair-tubes the liquid will ascend some distance up within the airtubes,and then the passage of liquid to the bottles will cease. When thefilling-tubes are raised, there will be certain spaces in the necks ofthe'bottles into which the liquid that has risen in the air-tubes willdescend. It

will be obvious that when the lateral orifices P communicate with thebranch pipes P, as in Fig. 6, the lateral hole or holes T communicatewith the interior'of the bottles, so that the liquid can flow from thecistern through the branch pipesP and tubes T into the bottles. It willalso be obvious that when the air-tubes T are raised the orifices P andholes T are closed. As before stated, the branch pipes P are formed orprovided with the vertical tubular portions P within which thevertically-sliding tubes-T move. The vertical tubular portions P of thebranch pipes P serve to guide the sliding tubes and to close the lateralorifices P of the tubes when the latter are raised,and a sleeve-likepart T, Fig. 6, of the socket b serves to close the lateral holes T whenthe tubes T are raised. When the tubes T are raised, the orifices P andholes T will be closed, and the tray, with the bottles B,is then movedunder a series of plungers D, which are also worked by a lever L havinga counterweight Z The plungers D are all attached to a cross-head H,which is connected to the lever L by two side links Z By another link Zto the lever is connected a rack R, gearing with a pinion on acrossspindle 'r, on which there are fixed cams Q, one for each bottle.Corks being placed in sockets S, arranged over the bottles, the lever Lis pulled down. This causes the cams Q to revolve, and they advancepressers 8 into the sockets, so as to compress the corks, which are thenpushed into the bottles by the descent of the plungers D. The pressers sare retracted by springs s. When the plungers ascend, the charged andcorked bottles can be removed, another row of empty bottles being placedon the tray to be charged and corked in like manner.

Having thus described the nature of thisinvention and the best means Iknow of carrying the same into practical effect, I claim- 1. Thecombination, in an apparatus for charging bottles, of a cistern, averticallysliding tube carrying a socket to fit the bottle-mouth, aflexible pipe connection between the upper part of the cistern and theupper end of the vertically-sliding tube, an air-tube fixed Within thevertically-sliding tube for conducting air from the bottle to the upperpart of the cistern, and means for placing the vertically-slidin g tubein comm unication with the lower part of the cistern and with the bottlewhen the'tube is depressed, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in an apparatus for charging bottles, of a cisternhaving branch pipes at its lower portion, filling-tubes extendingentirely through and movable vertically in parts of thebranch pipes andhaving lat eral orifices which are closed by the walls of parts of saidbranch pipes when the tubes are raised and communicate with the branchpipes when the tubes are lowered, air-tubes fixed,

respectively, in the sliding tubes, and pipe connections between thesliding tubes and the upper part of the cistern for conducting the airfrom the air-tubes'into said cistern, substantially as described.

3. The combination, in an apparatus for charging bottles, of a cisternhaving branch pipes provided with vertical tubular portions,

vertically-sliding tubes moving in the verti- 1 cal portions of thebranch pipes and provided with lateral orifices at their upper and lowerends, the orifices in the upper ends of the tubes being closed by thetubular portions of the branch pipes when the said tubes are .raised,air-tubes fixed, respectively, in the sliding tubes, pipe connectionsbetween the sliding tubes and the upper part of the cistern forconducting the air from the air-tubes into said cistern, and socketscarried by the said sliding tubes and having sleeves which close theorifices in the lower ends of the sliding tubes when the latter areraised, substantially as described. 7

4. The combination with a cross-head carrying avertical cork-drivingplunger, a corkholding socket, and a sliding cork-com pressor working insaid socket, of a pivoted lever, a cross-shaft having an attached pinionand a cam for operating the cork-compressor, a rack engaging said pinionto turn the latter, its shaft and the cam, a link connecting the rackwith the pivoted lever and links connecting the plunger-carryingcross-head with said lever, substantially as described.

5. The combination, in an apparatus for filling and corking bottles, ofbottle-filling mechanism, a cross-head carrying a series of cork-drivingplungers, a series of cork-holdin g sockets,a series of cork-compressorsworking in said sockets, a pivoted lever, a cross shaft having anattached pinion and a series of cams for operating the cork-compressors,a vertically-movable rack engaging the pinion, a link connecting therack with the pivoted lever, and connections between theplunger-carrying cross-head and said lever, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

EMIL FRANO.

Witnesses:

OLIVER IMRAY, JNo. P. M. MILLARD.

